From left to right, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, President Donald Trump and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou at a groundbreaking for the Foxconn plant on June 28, 2018 in Mt. Pleasant, Wis.

From left to right, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, President Donald Trump and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou at a groundbreaking for the Foxconn plant on June 28, 2018 in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

As news spread Wednesday that Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering its plans for its first U.S. plant just across the Illinois border, the Lake County Board chairwoman said she hopes that Wisconsin will also reconsider its end of the deal.

The Taiwanese electronics giant, which supplies Apple, said Wednesday that it is considering doing research and development at the facility, which it originally said would be a manufacturing plant.

“As we have previously noted, the global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed,” a statement from the company read. “As our plans are driven by those of our customers, this has necessitated the adjustment of plans for all projects, including Wisconsin.”

The company promised a $10 billion investment and up to 13,000 jobs at the Racine County site, a location near the headwaters of the Des Plaines River that has caused concerns about downstream flooding and pollution in Lake County.

The Lake County Board and a handful of local village boards passed resolutions last summer urging Wisconsin to reconsider waivers of environmental regulations. The state of Illinois and some local legislators also made the same request.

The move came about a year after massive flooding caused an estimated $10.7 million in damage across four counties, including Lake, where 244 homes sustained major damage and another 2,985 were damaged less severely, according to the county.

The village of Buffalo Grove, one of the communities that passed the resolution, has never been against the project itself, but village officials do have concerns about the relaxed standards the state of Wisconsin has granted, Village Manager Dane Bragg said.

The village doesn’t want to see the deterioration of water quality or increased flooding, Bragg said. He added that the changes open up “a window of opportunity” to work with the state of Wisconsin, the state of Illinois and Foxconn to address the concerns identified by Buffalo Grove and other communities.

Lake County Board Chairwoman Sandy Hart said the announcement marks “a perfect opportunity” for Wisconsin to also revisit its promises, especially those environmental waivers.

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik was less optimistic about the waivers being revisited, saying it might be possible, but said she wonders if there might be some legal barriers.

The changes could lead to fewer hires, a shifted timeline, a switch from manufacturing labor to knowledge workers, and a diminished economic benefit for Wisconsin, Hart said.

The statement said Foxconn is still committed to the creation of 13,000 jobs and its long-term investment in Wisconsin, but a spokeswoman declined to give more details on how its plans had changed.

Foxconn said in its statement that it was still considering the production of products such as TV sets at the facility. However, Reuters, which first reported the news, said Foxconn planned to dial that back, citing the expensive costs of making advanced TV screens in the U.S. It also reported that the pace of hiring would be slower than originally projected.

“In terms of TV, we have no place in the U.S.,” Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn Chief Executive Terry Gou, told Reuters. “We can’t compete.”

The announcement is an “interesting turn of events,” said Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik, whose village also passed a resolution last summer.

If the changes come with less parking, preserved wetlands and less construction in the floodplain, that would “certainly benefit” Lake County communities like Gurnee, she said. It could also mean less wastewater being produced and less Lake Michigan water being used.

“It could be a positive,” Kovarik said. “It would not be a good thing for Wisconsin economic development, but it would be a good thing for the environment.”

A lot of questions remain, Hart said. The announcement doesn’t clarify when the workers would be hired or whether the changes would lead to a smaller physical footprint.

The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission is scheduled to hear from the consultant it hired to analyze the potential impact at its March 7 meeting.

Hart said the county will continue to be “very outspoken about our need to protect our residents and work with state and federal legislators to determine next steps.”

Kovarik said regardless of what happens with Foxconn, she hopes the lesson learned is that flooding issues are not just contained to one state and that it’s becoming more of a regional issue. She said she’d like to see a regional approach to environmental regulations, like how access to Lake Michigan’s water is handled.